So the people reading the Mayan calendar got it wrong, but it does underscore the strange fascination we seem to have with trying to predict the end of world.

Some may ask, “Who can blame them?” given the news that came out of Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, or any number of human-inflicted tragedies that have befallen the world before or after that slaughter.

But it doesn’t explain those actively advocating for the end of days, like some Christian sects that support conflict in the holy land with the hope it will lead to Armageddon. They want to make prophecy come true, forgetting it’s not in their power to do so.

Even some governments in Mexico, Guatemala and Russia got in on the act by sponsoring end-of-the-world parties at the Mayan ruins or at Lenin’s tomb. The irony was that the Guatemalan government kept native Mayans away from the celebrations. I guess they didn’t want anybody spoiling the party.

Still, even among the skeptics I’m sure there were people that filled up the gas tank, made sure there was food and water on hand and made other provisions — just in case.

We’d like to congratulate the rest of you who went about their business blissfully unaware of an impending doomsday clock. The fact that most of us just stayed calm and carried on speaks to the biological imperative that has made humanity the most successful species on the planet.

It would also suggest the world is filled with optimists. Anybody who gets up in the morning despite all the bad news out there should be an optimist by definition. The same can be said of parents.